Hay Day is a time-based, social mobile game which provides players with the experience of farming. By growing crops and rearing animals, players can trade these products for money and experience which is then used to level up and unlock more items.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED-xH_jXkYE
Lens #1: 46 The Lens of Economy
In Hay Day, gold is the universal currency for buying and selling items. Players can either purchase gold using real world money or trade items for it. Hay Day provides two main channels for acquiring gold in the game. The first is through NPCs, the other is by trading with other players through the Roadside Shop.
The constant demand of goods from the NPCs ensures that all players have a minimum amount of coins which will still allow them to purchase machinery to further their progress in the game, albeit at a slower rate. The Roadside Shop gives the players some freedom to sell their items at their desired price (though the price range is still capped). Through the Roadside Shop, players can earn coins at a much faster rate as well as get missing items to fulfil their NPC orders, thus enabling them to level up faster.
I think the existence of both two channels is a good idea. Players do not get left behind if they choose not to participate in the Roadside Shop. If they do however, they get the thrill of trading items with other players which adds another level of fun to the game.
Lens #2: 75 The Lens of the Avatar
Hay Day does not provide an avatar. The only personalization available is the farm name. In many cases however, the farm name is used for advertising instead of bringing out the player’s identity.
Although having an avatar is a nice touch to bring players closer to the game, I do not think that an avatar is absolutely necessary in Hay Day. The view focus of the game is almost always on the farm itself, and the avatar will hardly be seen. Thus it is better not to spend resources on designing a redundant avatar.
Lens #3: 53 The Lens of Control
Hay Day’s controls are intuitive. For example, the zooming in and out of the screen follows the conventional pinch-to-zoom. The other controls are swiping and tapping. These controls are familiar to the players which enable them to pick it up fast. Even if they are not, there is a tutorial at the start of the game to familiarise them with the controls. Simple controls allow players to focus more on playing the game than mastering the controls which is essential for a better gaming experience.
Lens #4: 84 The Lens of Friendship
Friends in Hay Day help players progress in the game by reviving crops or completing deliveries. These friends usually come from the player’s social network like Facebook or Google+. Players can ask for help by announcing it which appears as a post in Facebook or Google+.
I would say there is not much interaction between players since there are no chat rooms and the only form of interaction is by helping each other or trading with each other. However, I think there is no need for chat rooms since players do not need to advertise their goods through word of mouth. Their Roadside Shop does that for them. That being said, Hay Day maintains these interactions by ensuring that it is a win-win situation for both parties, for example, the helper receives game experience and the player being helped gets to complete deliveries.
Lens #5: 66 The Lens of Obstacle
The obstacles in Hay Day are the deliveries requirements. As their level increases, the deliveries get more and more difficult to complete. Thus players often have to depend on their friends for help. It could be a problem if none of their friends are able to help. Another method is to purchase diamonds using real life money to complete delivery orders. However, this is a turn off from the game if players are not willing to buy diamonds yet are unable to progress in the game. Since the deliveries are the only obstacle, it gets boring after a while. Hay Day could introduce other challenges to keep players entertained.